Comforting Company
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: Orihime has a cold, and not even a blizzard will keep Ichigo from seeing her. / IchiHime fluff, written for Valentine's Day as well as a birthday gift for a close friend


A/N: My annual Valentine's Day contribution, also written as a birthday gift for a special girl I know^^.

* * *

The lights flickered again, and Ichigo torn his eyes from the book he was reading. "That's the third time in the last hour…the power might go out any moment."

The coming of winter was made apparent when the snow started to fall the night before and it hadn't let up at all. The first thing Ichigo normally did in the morning was look out his window and all that greeted his weary eyes was a window that was completely white. School had been canceled for the day which wasn't that big of a deal, but because of the heavy amount of snow falling it made travel impossible. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground and from what the weather channel said there was more on the way.

Thankfully cell-phones were still functioning and Ichigo was able to check on his friends in Karakura Town. They were all okay, stranded in their homes for the most part and bored out of their minds.

There was one exception.

One call went unanswered. Orihime hadn't called back after she missed his call. It wasn't like her to not answer her phone, nor not call back after a missed call. "Wonder what she is up to?"

Pulling out his phone once again, Ichigo dialed his girlfriend's number and waited for a response.

It rang four times before he finally got an answer.

"Hello?"

It was Orihime's voice on the other end, and Ichigo almost gave a sigh of relief when he heard her sniffling.

"Orihime? Are you okay?"

"Ichigo? Oh yeah, I am just-achoo! ...peachy."

The sneeze was so loud Ichigo had to pull the phone from his ear. "You don't sound alright."

"I swear I am! I just had a minor accident this morning and I have a small cold because of it."

"What did you do?"

"I thought I could try to shovel outside, maybe make a snowman or something with the neighborhood kids but the snow was falling faster than I had thought it would and..."

Ichigo stood up from his desk, waiting for her to finish. When she didn't he asked, "Orihime?"

"...a bunch of snow fell on top of me. I was literally buried from head to toe in the stuff-achoo! But I'm alright *sniff*."

Ichigo sighed, "You know we are in a blizzard warning right?"

"Of course! But the snow was softly falling and I thought I would have some fun...too bad I am sick because of it."

"Make yourself some soup and wrap yourself in blankets for the rest of the day. That should be enough to get it out of your system." He went to grab his snow boots, knowing Orihime like he did there was always something up with her situation than she let on. He knew her well enough that he will be making his way to her house, even if doing so in a potential blizzard at the cost of his own health. He didn't care though. He was worried about her. "Stay warm, I'll be over soon."

A short pause from Orihime's end of the line got Ichigo suspicious.

"Orihime? You still there?"

The lights over his head flickered and now he started to worry.

"Orihime?!"

Her slightly terrified voice answered with his name, "...Ichigo. The lights just went out in my place."

Just at that moment the lights flickered again, but they came back and remained that way. "My lights are fine now. Yours should be any second now."

A few moments went by and Orihime gravely replied, "They're still out..." A moment later she spoke again, "The power is also out..."

Ichigo grabbed his coat, a slight sense of urgency starting to come over him. "Hang tight, I'll be right over."

"What?! You can't get to my place in this weather-"

"Just make sure your front door is unlocked."

"Ichigo-!"

He closed his phone. That was an unheard of thing to do to his girlfriend, but he didn't want to be persuaded to not go to her. He loved her and he wasn't going to have her stay in her own place in the dark and freezing on top of being sick.

Grabbing his hat and gloves Ichigo made his way downstairs and after struggling against the door to push the snow away, started his trek across the neighborhood.

The wind was blowing but by taking cover behind poles and cars Ichigo made it to Orihime's place and thankfully the door was unlocked. He got inside and the air wasn't much warmer even after the fifteen minutes it took him to get to her place, the power hadn't been out for very long. Removing the snow off his clothes as best he could, Ichigo removed his coat and boots and made his way to the living room. "Orihime? "

Sitting on the sofa, wrapped in what looked like every blanket in the house with only her face showing, was Orihime. She definitely looked like she had a cold, with her cheeks reddening and her nose being red as well. Her eyes were somewhat watery. It was a scene so silly that even Ichigo cracked a smile.

"You told me to stay warm..."

He walked over and sat down next to her. By this point Ichigo swore he could almost see his breath. "You did well there, Orihime."

"I'm glad you're here though...it was getting kind of scary here. Being alone and all."

"Funny. I thought you'd be mad at me."

She teetered back and forth, making some sort of movement but to what purpose Ichigo didn't know. "I am slightly mad at you. You could get sick because of me, and the weather isn't helping any."

He helped her remove the blankets. They were wrapped around her so tightly it was a wonder she could move at all. "If I get sick it's no big deal. I was worried about you, and come hell or high water I was coming to see you."

Removing all the blankets Orihime stretched her arms out over her head, and from there Ichigo noted that she was wearing a night dress. It was wet with perspiration and it stuck to her skin, and it clung tightly to the curves of her chest.

It took Ichigo a moment to realize that he was staring, but Orihime didn't notice. She was too busy trying to warm her sides. "I feel so hot and yet so cold...why is it like that?"

She finally caught his stare.

"Ichigo?"

He looked away, trying to hide the blush that was forming on his face.

Too bad she caught him. "See? You're already red in the face Ichigo, you're starting to get sick too!"

"That's...not it, Orihime," he tried to explain but gave up and tried to wrap a blanket around her shoulders instead.

"I'm not a fan of blankets anymore," she tried to push it off but when he kept insisting she let it stay.

Ichigo got closer to her, and she leaned against him. She shivered in response to his welcoming warmth.

"You alright now?"

She sniffled and a bead of sweat went down the side of her forehead and down her cheek. "Yeah..."

For a few long moments they sat there together in a perfect state of bliss, complete silence save for a few sniffles from Orihime. Even though it wasn't like their dates from the last few months it seemed strangely like one, and neither of them failed to notice this. They loved being in each other's company and spending long hours together was an almost daily deal for them. Tatsuki was the only other person who knew to the extent the relationship between her best friend and the hot headed Ichigo, but she didn't like to embarrass her friend so she kept quiet.

A throbbing headache kept Orihime from falling asleep, and she felt she had to let her voice be heard, "I think I should go lay down. My head feels like a bobble-head..."

Not saying a word, Ichigo let her go but to her surprise he effortlessly picked her up and held her in his arms. Her already red face was now even redder.

"Ichigo?!"

He seemed oblivious to her situation, "What?"

"I think I can manage to walk to my room!"

"You got a headache, so your equilibrium is more than likely off. A simple walk could be a problem. I'll carry you to your room."

"But-!" She put her hands over her face to hid herself.

"What?"

She didn't want to say to him that no man had ever been in her room before. She was more than a little embarrassed by this fact. So she came up with a lie instead, one that sounded familiar.

She lowered her hands so her eyes were showing, "I'm...heavy..."

Ichigo arched an eyebrow, and then smiled. "Stop that. You're light as a feather."

She answered with a quivering lip, "...last door on the right, at the end of the hall."

He carried her to her room and set her down on her bed, which was an upgrade from the futon she used to have, and went to fetch her blankets. Orihime changed her night dress for a fresh one and got back into bed when Ichigo returned. By the time he was done making her bed she had two thick blankets warming her up.

"There, that should do it for now. Least until the power comes back on."

Orihime was laying on her back with her arms crossed over her chest. Her head was still hurting, though not as much as before.

She shivered, apparently still cold. "If we add anymore blankets I'll sweat to death..." A short pause, then she said, "Is that even possible?"

Ichigo chuckled, "I'd have to ask my old man about that but I'm somewhat positive it isn't."

Closing her eyes and rolling onto her side, Orihime felt herself starting to get comfortable and if she was lucky she'd fall asleep before too long. "Thanks for helping me Ichigo..."

Ichigo knelt next to her, one of his hands gripping hers and giving it a light squeeze, "For you, anything Orihime."

She gave him a smile and closed her eyes. Sleep came for her quickly and she had no chance of refusing it.

A few hours after she asleep, Orihime opened her eyes and her body felt warmer than it had before. She didn't have to move to discover why, as Ichigo was lying next to her and holding her close, using his own body to help keep her warm.

Strangely she didn't feel flustered or embarrassed, but grateful. Grateful to have loved this wonderful and caring man, and for him to love her the way he did.


End file.
